“Welcome to the Kang’s humble abode!”

Seulgi stepped into the one-story house with her arms above her head, pacing freely into the living room from the foyer. Joohyun scanned the household, and true enough, Seulgi’s residency was pretty humble and homely. She immediately felt the comfort and warmth her own home gave the second she slipped her shoes off at the foyer, eyes glancing all over the place to find the living room and the kitchen connected. She assumed the hallway straight down from her direction was where the bedrooms and bathrooms were located.

There were family portraits and individual frames of Seulgi, and who Joohyun assumed was her older brother, hanging on the wall of the small hallway from the foyer to the rest of the house. She took the time to stop by Seulgi’s photo and stare—perfect posture, blemishes obviously cleaned up through the use of photoshop, professional clothing, and stiff yet a somewhat pretty smile. It was a photo taken before a school year so that the students had a professional photo on hand, but it was more so for their family members to gush at. Joohyun remembered hers; it was probably somewhere in her mother’s room, most likely on top of her dresser.

“Umma? Appa?” Seulgi called out. She was walking down the main hallway, peeking into rooms on both the left and right side. “Oppa?” She came back with a forefinger scratching her cheek. “I guess no one’s home.”

Joohyun felt tense and her heartbeat started to beat noticeably louder. She wasn’t sure if it was because she didn’t have to meet Seulgi’s family, mustering up a lasting first impression and all, or if it was because she was going to be alone with Seulgi for who knew how long. But sure enough, those two ideas didn’t play well with Joohyun. None of this did, and she didn’t know when she would start to feel less edgy around Seulgi.

“Unnie, you can make yourself feel at home there!” Seulgi pointed at the couch, then gestured to the kitchen afterwards. “I’ll be making popcorn. Do you have any idea of what kind of movie you want to watch?”

Joohyun finally freed herself from the rooted position by the hanging photo frame of Seulgi. She gradually made her way to the three-seater couch, carefully and gently sitting down in the middle seat.

“Um,” she started, fingers playing around with the straps of her bag. “A-Anything but horror, please.”

Joohyun heard Seulgi make some sort of cooing sound, and she could imagine the small pout forming on her lips. A few beeps here and there and Seulgi turned around to palm the edge of the kitchen island, listening to the whirring of the microwave behind her.

“But horror movies are the best!” exclaimed Seulgi. She lightly giggled afterwards. “It’s fine. I’ve actually been meaning to watch this other film for a while now because my friends keep saying it’s so good. Have you seen 10 Things I Hate About You yet?”

Joohyun’s ears perked up at the movie title. It had been a good few years since she last seen the movie, considering how it was probably an old classic remake of a Shakespearian play, but she remembered it being one of the best movies she had watched so far.

“Yes, it’s been a while, though, so I don’t remember too much of it,” Joohyun said. “But I’m more than willing to watch it again! I remembered that I really liked it.”

“Oh?” The microwave dinged and Seulgi moved swiftly to retrieve the bag of popcorn from within. Smell of butter and popped kettle lingered in the air, and suddenly Joohyun felt hungry. “Then, all the more reason to watch it!”

After transferring the popcorn into a big, white bowl, Seulgi made her way over to the living room and sat it onto the counter. She hooked up her laptop to the HDMI cable plugged into her TV and opened up the movie that was already on her hard drive.

“You already have the movie, but haven’t watched it yet?” Joohyun asked.

“I couldn’t find the time to. Okay, well, romantic comedy isn’t really my thing so maybe I was trying to put it off as much as I could despite everyone else saying that it was so good,” Seulgi divulged.

Joohyun laughed. Seulgi did seem like the type of girl to invest in action comedy or horror movies. She couldn’t exactly imagine the younger becoming sappy and moody over a love story.

“Well, it is a good movie. I think you’ll like something about it,” said Joohyun.

Seulgi sat her laptop off to the side where it was barely seen and not acting as a distractor when watching the movie. “If unnie says so, then it must be really good,” Seulgi said and shot her a smile, pacing around the living room to turn off the lights and swipe the bowl of popcorn off the table before plopping down next to Joohyun.

“Oh, I forgot,” Seulgi whispered when the movie intro was playing. “Are you cold? I can get some blankets for us.”

Temperature was probably the last thing on her mind right now, but as soon as Seulgi mentioned it, it became a tiny bit colder because of nighttime. But she felt bad having to send the younger off to fetch some blankets when the movie just started, and she had been setting up this night for them for the past ten minutes.

“I think I’ll be okay.” She sat her bag off to the side and propped up her legs, arms wrapped around her knees. But then she looked down at Seulgi’s clothes and noticed that she was still in her dancing outfit, midriff and legs bare for all to see—well, just Joohyun in this case. The lights were turned off, but every time the movie flashed to a bright screen, the lights bounced off of Seulgi and accentuated certain parts of her exposed body. She desperately wanted to grab each flap of her jacket to pull it over, gradually losing some senses over the sight of her being. “B-But what about you? Aren’t you cold?”

Seulgi looked down at herself after popping a few popcorns into . “I’m fine. I have a naturally warm body.”

They both left it at that, finally turning all of their attention to the movie. The bowl of popcorn was on Seulgi’s lap and it was of easy reach for the both of them, but Joohyun still became so shy when trying to grab a few pieces. Maybe it was because she had seen this movie before, but she couldn’t focus her whole attention onto it, instead wondering about what if her hand accidentally touched Seulgi’s in the popcorn bowl; what if there was some risqué scene in the movie that she forgotten about and she would have to suffer through it, pondering what Seulgi would be feeling in that moment—was she going to be hot and bothered like Joohyun usually was during hot scenes or was she going to remain comfortable? – what if Seulgi did something to her during the movie?

She mentally laughed at herself for even thinking about the last part. Seulgi was too precious and innocent to even do actions like that before committing to a relationship, and she was also very much dead set focused on the movie.

Joohyun probably should have thought about what if she herself accidentally pulled some unusual shenanigan on Seulgi?

No.

She would panic and flip out before it even happened.

Or maybe when it did happen, her anxiety would get the best of her and she would still end up making herself look like a fool.

One way or another, it was not going to end well if Joohyun got this sudden surge of braveness to take another step further.

But that was the thing—despite Seulgi’s evident nervousness earlier this week, that was the only thing Joohyun had on hand for potential evidence of Seulgi’s reciprocation.

Did Seulgi like her the way that she liked her?

Did Seulgi even have an ounce of love oozing out from her that was romantically meant for Joohyun?

They had spent some time together, but it was obvious that it was as friends. Two individuals who were coming together to forge a deeper bond between each other in terms of friendship.

Joohyun hated this, hated how vague and enigmatic Seulgi could be sometimes, especially when it came to relationships. No one actually knew of her past experience, that was if she had any, and no one knew of any crushes that she might have.

Wait.

Seulgi did say the other time at the café that she was secretly crushing on someone. Well, maybe, but that was still some possibility.

Just remembering it again felt as though Irene’s heart was falling to the pit of her stomach.

She was starting to feel uncomfortable once again.

“I-I have to go to the restroom,” she announced a little bit louder than usual, slightly shocking Seulgi who was putting a popcorn into .

“Oh, okay. It’s down the hall to the right,” said Seulgi.

Joohyun jumped up immediately and weaved her way around in the darkness, walking into the pitch-black hallway. Her hand ran against the wall before she reached a doorknob, opening it slowly to make sure it was the bathroom. Once the light flickered on and all she saw were the bare necessities of a bathroom, she hopped right in and locked the door behind her.

Joohyun reached down to her pocket and fished out her phone, thumbs shaking over her screen to dial up a number that she had only been calling as of late besides her mother.

The dial tone rang for what Joohyun felt were long, excruciatingly painful moments.

It was by the fifth dial tone where she grew more anxious than before, tapping the tips of her fingers against the tiled sink counter.

“Please… pick up!”

The dial tone ceased for a muffled noise to emit from the phone.

“Yes, unnie? Did Seulgi ditch you for her team or somethin’?”

“N-No!” she said quite loudly, but she felt a tiny bit relieved that Sooyoung finally picked up the phone. The air became thick and the silence was unbearable. She wondered if Seulgi could hear her, so she made her way over to the toilet, pushed down the seat cover, and sat on it. “I-I’m, I’m at Seulgi’s house…”

“What! Damn, unnie, are you already scoring with Seulgi!?”

“No, no, no, that’s not what we’re going to do at all!” Joohyun exclaimed. She thought her voice was becoming louder, so she cupped over the phone. “I’m freaking out here, Sooyoung. You have to help me.”

“What are you freaking out about? Do you want to leave? Because I don’t think you should if you still want to be with Seulgi. This is a huge step right here.”

“No… I don’t want to leave,” said Joohyun. “It’s just… it’s just us two alone and we’re watching a movie and I have no idea when her parents or brother are going to walk in on us.”

“So, you’re just feeling a bit jittery about this?”

“I don’t know if it’s a bit, Sooyoung. M-My heart feels like it’s going to explode. Maybe it’s because I know for sure that it’s just me and her and no one else around, and knowing how stupid I can get when I’m in love, I’m afraid I might accidentally do something I’ll regret.”

“Are you going to regret doing it, or are you going to regret not doing it?”

Joohyun sighed and clutched onto her head. “I don’t know. I-I don’t know anything. Sooyoung, I’m scared.”

There was silence on the other end of the phone. Sooyoung was not as playful and demanding as she usually was when they had their lessons at an empty classroom. Sure, the concept of getting Kang Seulgi once and for all was such a beautiful idea—being with your long-time crush and feeling the rush of adrenaline all the time—but Joohyun was just finally realizing how terrifying it was to think about getting rejected.

She hadn’t felt this way about someone for a very, very long time—actually, this might as well be the first time she was acting like a lovesick puppy around her and only Sooyoung knew about it. But she was starting to second guess herself.

Was this a good idea?

Was chasing after Seulgi something that would last long?

Did Seulgi even like girls!?

“S-S-Should I still go for her?”

“What do you think?”

“I-I don’t know what I think, Sooyoung! That’s why I’m calling you! I don’t even know if I’ll be able to finally settle with someone I love so much,” Joohyun huffed out. “I… I love her so much, Sooyoung, and it’s starting to hurt now thinking about all the possibilities that she may not end up feeling the same at all.”

Joohyun could hear Sooyoung shuffle around on the other end of the line. It was eerily much quieter now, and she assumed that Sooyoung moved locations.

“Don’t stop.”

“W-What?”

“Keep going for her.”

“Are you sure…? What if I… what if one of us gets hurt? I don’t want to lose her, Sooyoung. If I know that Seulgi will never like me like that, then I’m more than happy with just being her friend…”

Even though I don’t really want to….

Sooyoung audibly sighed. “Listen, unnie. I’ll be honest with you, I have no freaking clue what each outcome is every time we have you do something. I don’t know if Seulgi is going to act out differently than what I have imagined, I don’t know if Seulgi is worth your time chasing after in the long run. But that’s what love is. You don’t know everything, and anything can be unexpected. You just have to act accordingly and prepare for the best and for the worst.

“But what I do know is that you love Seulgi a lot right now. You love her so much that you’re willing to get out of your comfort zone to do anything that you can to be with her, and honestly, that’s admirable of you. Yes, rejection is still a possibility, but it’s better to live knowing that you gave an effort rather than not knowing at all.”

This was why Joohyun called Sooyoung.

The latter might be a pain in the sometimes, but Joohyun understood exactly why she asked her for help than anyone else who was close with Seulgi.

Sooyoung was confident in her abilities to help out other people, she was actually just confident in general, but she also knew the limitations and the reality of what might be the outcomes of certain situations.

Maybe that was what Joohyun needed at this moment.

Confidence.

Braveness.

Knowing that everything would be okay despite what happened.

It was not like it was the end of the world here.

“Just live life in the moment, unnie. As you let life take its course, guide it the way that you want it to go.”

Joohyun heaved a sigh.

“Okay.” She did feel a whole lot better talking to Sooyoung now. “Thank you, Sooyoung.”

“Any time, unnie,” Sooyoung said, and she cackled. “Now, hurry up out there before Seulgi bursts through thinking you fell in the toilet.”

**

“Is everything okay, unnie?”

Joohyun had her phone clutched tightly in her hand when she finally stepped out back into reality. Seulgi was scrolling through her phone, probably looking at social media apps while waiting for Joohyun. The latter noticed that she paused the movie at the same exact spot when she left, and there was a thick blanket on the couch now.

“Y-Yeah, sorry. My stomach started hurting out of nowhere.”

Seulgi frowned. “Do you need medicine or anything? I think we have something for stomach pains.”

Joohyun smiled at the younger’s concern. She sat down next to Seulgi and was immediately blanketed with warmth when Seulgi flicked the covers up to rest on the both of them.

“I’m fine, thank you.”

“Hm, okay. Let me know if you need anything, unnie.”

Seulgi resumed the movie, and they both settled back into the couch, feeling warm and cozy with the comfortable material of the couch and the warmth of the thick blanket.

They were most likely finished with half of the movie by now when Joohyun recognized a scene where the two main characters, Kat and Patrick, were on a date at a paint throwing field. She shifted around in her position, gradually leaning toward Seulgi to find a more comfortable position. Her head gently rested against Seulgi’s shoulder, and she waited a little bit, sensing if there was a sign of shock or protest from the younger girl, but the latter remained still. If anything, she might have moved a tiny bit so that they were both in a more relaxed position.

Kat and Patrick were running around in the field in their white jumpsuits, hands reaching into their bags for the balls filled with paint. They looked like they were having so much fun, and Joohyun subconsciously smiled, thinking about how it would be if she and Seulgi were the ones having a fun date instead. Kat and Patrick ended up falling onto a pile of haystack, bodies and hairs soiled with paint, yet eyes filled with so much affection. They shared a kiss, and Joohyun wondered what kind of reaction Seulgi had upon seeing that scene.

There wasn’t any audible reaction from Seulgi when the scene transitioned. She probably wasn’t thinking too much about it, or maybe she was and probably thought the scene was grossly cute. Joohyun shifted a tiny bit more in her spot, angling her body to Seulgi so that her chest was somewhat pressing against Seulgi’s right arm.

Seulgi peered down at her. “Do you want to lay down so that we’re more comfortable?”

“Oh, I, uh, no i-it’s okay.”

Seulgi smiled and placed the almost empty popcorn bowl back onto the table. “Come on, lay down. I kind of need to stretch out my legs.”

Joohyun did as she said and laid on her side, but what she didn’t expect was for Seulgi to lay down behind her. Seulgi adjusted the blanket on top of them so that it was covering them from head to toe. Joohyun thought she had an arm propped up so that she could watch the movie from behind her, while the other hand was lying mindlessly on top of her side.

Joohyun hoped Seulgi didn’t hear it and that the movie was loud enough to mask it, but her breathing was becoming more erratic the more her anxiousness built up. Seulgi was behind her, bodies snugged against each other on a couch meant for three people to sit on. She could feel every inch of her body touching Seulgi’s own, and her mind wandered off to wonder how this position would be if she was actually facing Seulgi instead.

“Are you comfortable?” Seulgi whispered into her ear.

Shivers ran up her spine and she couldn’t trust herself to speak, so Joohyun nodded.

A quarter more of the movie was finished. Joohyun could feel Seulgi shifting behind so that she could loosen up the tensed muscles in her propped arm. She felt a pillow gently touching the back of her head and realized that Seulgi placed a pillow against the armrest so that she could lay her head down at a more elevated angle than Joohyun.

Joohyun gulped a lump in , still very much hyperaware that Seulgi was behind her. Then, as if her body thought that she could handle more bodily contact, she became so much tenser when Seulgi’s arm gently fell over her body, hand resting in front of her stomach.

She carefully looked behind her to see that Seulgi had fallen asleep, and she immediately softened at the sight.

Poor girl might have been exhausted practicing days upon days to execute a synchronized, wonderful dance performance earlier today. She took the opportunity to let the movie continue rolling to the end and gently turned around so that she was facing Seulgi.

Seulgi’s skin was so clear and fair, her cheeks look unimaginably soft, and her pink lips were slightly parted. With her eyes closed, she looked so much more serene, so much more like an adorable baby bear that Joohyun always thought she looked like.

Joohyun looked down at Seulgi’s mouth and reached out to gently trace her lips with her thumb.

Oh, how she wondered what Seulgi’s lips would feel like against her own. Must be soft, fluttery, and explosive beyond her imagination.

She desperately wanted to take advantage and press against Seulgi’s, to finally feel a part of her, but she decided against it. It would not be right. Her first kiss with Seulgi would be when the latter was conscious and when her feelings were reciprocated.

So, she decided to move much closer and brush her lips against Seulgi’s forehead instead, a smile creeping up on her face right afterwards.

Joohyun already knew how the movie ended, and she closed her eyes, heart clenched and chest warm with Seulgi’s arm around her.