Was it obvious?

            How unusually jittery she was?

            How much her hands had been shaking and how her lips had been trembling all day?

            If people could read her thoughts, if people could even see her thoughts, they would pin her as someone who was borderline psycho, deserving to be in a therapist’s room.

            Maybe even call her obsessed.

            No one bothered to outright question Joohyun’s state except for Sooyoung. The former was fidgeting once again, thumbs twiddling with one another in folded hands. Knees were shaking. Teeth were clamping down on a lower lip.

            Joohyun looked like someone who got caught putting her hand in the cookie jar when she wasn’t supposed to, and now she was facing the consequences.

            “You are acting so much stranger than usual,” stated Sooyoung.

            So, it was obvious.

            “…Have I?”

            Sooyoung shot Joohyun an incredulous look, almost like the latter was ridiculous for even trying to confirm that question. Her whole being was already confirming it, so there wasn’t any need for her words other than the explanation for this state.

            “What happened after that night at Seulgi’s place?”

            It had been two days since.

            Two days of unusual jitteriness—except that today it was much more apparent for some odd reason. Maybe it was because there was an exceptionally high likelihood of bumping into the dancer since that night.

            “I…” Joohyun started. “We… fell asleep together on the couch.”

            Sooyoung crossed her arms. “Is that all?”

            “No, I… we…”

**

            It felt like one of those moments where Joohyun could sleep in much to her heart’s content, but the discomfort of her sleeping position was so apparent. She couldn’t even ignore this feeling, and she finally opened her eyes, trying to take in the view. Her eyes immediately wandered about the unfamiliar setting and saw a blank TV screen.

            But she felt so warm.

            And suddenly she was aware of something in front of her stomach.

            And the hot breath hitting the back of her neck.

            And the bare legs brushing up against hers when there was a sign of movement.

            In the middle of their sleep, the blanket seemed to have slithered off of their body and threatened to fall down onto the floor if it wasn’t for Joohyun’s grip onto one end of the thick material.

            Joohyun wasn’t aware how she managed to flip back to their normal position when the movie was still rolling. She remembered falling asleep looking at Seulgi, so she carefully turned back to see the girl in question still very much sound asleep.

            What a heavy sleeper.

            A cute heavy sleeper, though.

            All feelings of discomfort were suddenly lost at the sight of the younger girl, chest heaving slightly, light snores emitting through her parted lips.

            It was a wonder how she did not move an inch at all last night.

            Actually, it was a wonder how she was still sleeping.

            Joohyun thought it must be some time in the afternoon right now, judging by how warm the living room was and how much sunlight was peering through the windows.

            But she remained on the couch next to Seulgi, and she didn’t even want to leave, wanting to think of it as an excuse that a lack thereof of Seulgi’s hold was preventing her from moving away.

            And she stared, stared, and stared.

            Unaware of the light padding of footsteps coming her way.

            “Ah, one of you is finally awake now, huh?”

            It was almost as if the glass shattered for Joohyun, a surge of electricity running through her body before uncomfortably settling in her chest to make her blood pump unusually fast. Her lifeless body jolted awake and instinctively moved away from Seulgi, sitting up on her to look at whoever dared interrupt her “watching.”

            Oh, it was Seulgi’s mom.

            At least she thought so by the sight of her short perm and motherly expression, and the familiarity of Seulgi’s facial features.

            She forgot about her and Seulgi being alone last night, that her parents and brother weren’t home yet.

            Oh, God, what had they seen?

            What were they thinking?

            What was Seulgi’s mom thinking right now?

            Joohyun shook and clutched tightly onto the blanket against her chest. “Um, h-hi, Mrs. Kang. I’m sorry, it’s not exactly what you t-think….”

            Seulgi’s mom raised her eyebrow. “Not what I think? You’re telling me you’re not Seulgi’s girlfriend?”

            Joohyun heated up. “N-No! No, we’re not… we’re not like that. I just… we were watching a movie last night and we just fell asleep together…”

            Mrs. Kang didn’t seem to buy it. She walked around to the back of the couch and swung a heavy hand onto Seulgi’s bottom. Seulgi jolted awake, as if she got doused by a bucket of ice cold water, and winced at the pain, whining at her mother for rudely disturbing her sleep.

            “Umma! What was that for!?”

            “That’s for falling asleep on the couch with your friend. You should’ve at least slept in your room!” Mrs. Kang scolded. “You know how much I don’t like it when you sleep on the couch, you always end up hurting your back one way or another.”

            “But, umma, I’m fine sleeping here.” Seulgi was pouting while also rubbing her bottom. She was sure going to have a bright red mark there in a few moments.

            “I’m sorry! We didn’t mean to fall asleep,” Joohyun interjected. She stood up from the couch and rummaged around for her belongings. Just where was that darn bag of hers… “I don’t mean to intrude anymore. I’m sorry, I’ll leave.”

            “Wait, Joohyun unnie—”

            “You’re staying here, young lady.” Joohyun became rooted in her position, wide eyes staring at Mrs. Kang who had her fists digging into her wide hips. “So, you’re ‘Joohyun unnie,’ huh?”

            Joohyun darted her eyes from Mrs. Kang to Seulgi, not sure whether to respond to the mockery or not. But then she swore she saw a split second of fear in Seulgi’s eyes before the younger girl jumped from the couch and rushed over to her mother.

            “N-No, umma! Don’t talk—”

            Seulgi’s mom slapped Seulgi’s mouth. “Oh, hush, Seulgi. I’m not going to do anything bad here. Why do you think of your mom like that?” She pushed Seulgi around to the hallway. “Go wash yourself up and get your brother to help prepare lunch.”

            Joohyun observed the hesitance in Seulgi’s being, her legs dragging across the living room to quickly head to her room. The latter shot her an apologetic look. She didn’t even bother trying to fight her mother against it.

            As soon as the door to Seulgi’s room was audibly shut, Seulgi’s mom seemed to have noticeably loosened up.

            “Joohyun?”

            Said girl’s ears perked up. She gently nodded. “Y-Yes, Mrs. Kang?”

            Seulgi’s mom smiled for the first time, and it was so much like Seulgi’s warm smile, like it was able to give her the amount of comfort she needed. Seulgi looked just like her mom.

            “Seulgi has told me so much about you,” she said, and Joohyun became puzzled.

            Me?

            Why was Seulgi talking about me?

            “I-I’m sorry?”

            “Ah,” Mrs. Kang started, slumping down onto the couch, to which Joohyun followed suit as well. She figured this might be awhile, and it’d be quite rude to leave at this point. “Thank you so much for being a good unnie to my little daughter.”

            Joohyun wanted to laugh out of incredulity. What actions had taken place for her to be suddenly placed on high regard? What did Seulgi talk about every day when she returned home, when she was sitting at the table for dinner with her family, when her mother asked her about what happened at school that day?

            Surely, she had somehow been brought up in conversations. She didn’t think of any other reason as to why Mrs. Kang knew of her.

            But why?

            “Sorry, Mrs. Kang, but you must’ve mistaken me for someone else?”

            Mrs. Kang shook her head immediately. “Oh, no. You’re definitely the one Seulgi keeps talking about. I’m happy that she is finally able to settle down with someone as beautiful as you, although I am kind of surprised that you’re her girlfriend and—”

            “W-Wait, Mrs. Kang, I-I’m not Seulgi’s girl—”

            “Oh, hush, little one,” Mrs. Kang interrupted. She reached forward to hold onto Joohyun’s hands, which were on her lap. “I’ll be frank, having grown up in a traditional household, I was very worried when I heard about how much Seulgi likes this senior in her school, and a girl, at that. As a mother, one of my biggest worries for my children were them bringing home some lad or gal and doing things that—”

            Joohyun blushed. “Please, Mrs. Kang, we didn’t do any of that, and I’m not her—”

            “Oh, I know you two wouldn’t! Seulgi’s still too much of my baby girl to think about doing those things. Did you know she was fourteen and didn’t know anything about kissing?”

            Wait.

            Really?

            Mrs. Kang laughed, and when her face scrunched up so that her eyes were forming small curves of crescents, she was suddenly reminded of Seulgi’s adorable laugh.

            “But, yes, as I was saying, Joohyun,” she continued, thumb gently the back of Joohyun’s hand. “Seully here talks so much about you whenever I ask her about her day. It’s one thing to worry about my daughter’s relationship, but it’s another to worry about her happiness. Despite all traditions and beliefs, all I really want for my daughter is to be happy, and you seem to be doing a good job at that—with how much she smiles talking about you and what you two did that day.”

            Mrs. Kang rambled on and on about Seulgi, but Joohyun wasn’t exactly listening anymore.

            To be the sole source of Seulgi’s happiness, to be someone who was constantly talked about to her parents at the dinner table, to be the reason for the warm smiles.

            Joohyun felt her chest constricting.

            She couldn’t breathe.

            This was getting too much for her.

            She thought she was the only one receiving a form of happiness just being around her crush (at this point, it was not even a crush anymore, actually), but to know that feelings were being reciprocated made her feel like she was on cloud nine, that she was finally at the top of the world all her other friends had ventured off to and stuck their own flag down onto the ground, that she could finally take on anything. It was her turn to stick her flag now.

            But then again, this was coming from a secondary source and not from the main girl in question.

            Joohyun couldn’t fully immerse herself into bliss just yet, but just thinking about it because someone else said it made the incessant pounding in her head bearable.

            Mrs. Kang whipped her head around to the sound of Seulgi’s door opening, and there emerged Seulgi in a fresh set of casual clothes with a wet head of hair.

            “Well.” Mrs. Kang stood up and made her way over to the kitchen. “I’m going to start making lunch now. Joohyun, would you care to join us?”

            Joohyun was still in a trance, cheeks flushed and head pounding. Was her chest beating just as hard, too? She placed a hand over her heart.

            Yeah.

            Seulgi stopped before her and placed Joohyun’s bag, which was next to the coffee table, onto the couch. “Unnie, do you want to join us for lunch?”

            “Oh.” Joohyun finally snapped out of her reverie, looking up at Seulgi, who was drying the ends of her hair with a towel. “I, um… I don’t think I should. My parents are probably worried about me.”

            “Oh, it’s no big deal! Let me call them and tell them what happened,” Mrs. Kang hollered from the kitchen.

            Joohyun smiled. As much as she would like to stay, her heart probably wouldn’t do well by the end of lunch with all of this new information pouring in. Heck, she just slept and woke up next to Seulgi. Things need to be taken slower here for Joohyun to calm down.

            “Thank you, Mrs. Kang, but I really need to get going. Perhaps next time?”

            Mrs. Kang was banging pots and pans here and there, grabbing all the ingredients she needed from the refrigerator. She was expertly maneuvering around the kitchen like it was her territory—which it was.

            “Ay, fine. Have a great rest of your day, okay, Joohyun?” She stopped her busy body to shoot a smile at said girl. “Seully, go walk your girlfriend out.”

            “U-Umma, s-she’s not my g-girlfriend…”

            “Mhmm.”

            Seulgi still walked Joohyun to the front door anyway. The latter could feel the stare on her back as she slipped on her shoes, balancing on one leg to tie her shoelaces.

            “Sorry for falling asleep last night,” Seulgi said.

            Joohyun planted her foot back onto the ground. She lifted her shoulder, adjusting the bag straps so that it was secure from falling.

            “It’s okay.” Joohyun smiled. She wasn’t sure if it was because the house was beginning to heat up from Mrs. Kang’s cooking, but there was a faint trace of crimson on Seulgi’s cheeks. “I had fun spending time with you anyway.”

            Seulgi nodded and grinned. Ah, there was the smile Joohyun fell in love with.

            “See you Monday, then, unnie.”

            “See you.”

            When Joohyun stepped down onto the sidewalk, hurling a glance over her shoulder to see Seulgi waving at her from the front door, a smile was still playing on her lips as she made her merry way down the street.

            She hadn’t thought about asking Seulgi whatever her mother said earlier.

            For now, she would have to bask into this newfound bliss.

**

            Sooyoung was just looking at her.

            Wait.

            Shouldn’t she be freaking out just like how she was, except showing it off more externally with flailing arms and boisterous screams?

            Instead her arms were still crossed, and she was leaning against the whiteboard. She placed the marker down onto the small shelf at the bottom of the board.

            “I don’t think you need my help anymore, unnie.”

            “Wait, no, I still do! What are you saying?”

            “You know, Seulgi unnie has been crushing on you for a long time, too,” Sooyoung divulged, and she cackled at the sight of Joohyun’s disbelief. “What, don’t believe me?”
            “Um, yeah, I don’t? What are you even on about? I think I’m pretty sure our entire friend group knows of me crushing on Seulgi, not the other way around.”

            Yeah, she wasn’t really discreet about her liking Seulgi these past few weeks. Everyone had some sort of inkling about it, but they never straight out said anything. It was like it was an unspoken rule to not talk about friends crushing on other friends until they eventually end up together. That was when they could start whooping and hollering about them.

            But Seulgi and Joohyun had yet to still reach that stage.

            “They do. Everyone knows but Seulgi.”

            Oblivious bear.

            Of course, she wouldn’t.

            “And now that you finally know, there’s nothing else left for you to do but become her girlfriend. I don’t think you can do anything remarkably wrong from here on out for her to suddenly think differently about you.”

            Oh, Sooyoung.

            Had you not been paying attention this past month? Joohyun could get pretty ridiculous.

            “Wait… if you knew all this time that Seulgi likes me… why didn’t you tell me from the start? This whole thing wouldn’t have had to happen.”

            Sooyoung laughed. “What’s the fun in telling you from the start? With you asking for my help, you get to have Seulgi unnie, and I get to have chicken!”

            “You used me for chicken!?”

            “Excuse me, I think you used me to get Seulgi unnie.”

            “And might I add that it only somewhat made me feel so much more anxious than ever before?”

            Sooyoung pushed herself off of the whiteboard and made her way over to the distraught Joohyun.

            “Wasn’t it worth it, though?” she asked. “Going through all of this and knowing that the situation played out nicely in the end.”

            Yeah.

            I didn’t like what I felt.

            But…

            Yeah.

            “All that is left for you to do is to finally ask her.”

            Joohyun lowered her head.

            Right… they weren’t together just yet. All she could think about right now was the anxiety she was going to feel again leading up to the moment where she would spew those words out to Seulgi.

            “But how…? Can’t you just help me out once more?”

            Sooyoung shook her head. “I’m all out of lessons, unnie. Now it’s time to take the final.”

            A final that she was sure she would not ever want to think about failing.

            Joohyun sighed.

            Sooyoung was right.

            Everything from here on out had to be done on her own accord. Having Sooyoung assist with finally asking out Seulgi would not seem genuine—she had to be the one to think of how, where, and when to ask her. All she had to do was review and put the lessons into play.

---

I'm all out of updates now! That one week of me pumping out writings one by one took a toll. Lol, just kidding. I have finals next week so I'll be diligently studying for them. If ya'll ever want to chat with me, don't be afraid to personally message me here (although I won't reply as fast) or you can befriend me on Twitter! I do need more friends... :'(

https://twitter.com/horribledrive

Also, there should be one more chapter for this on-going! As you can tell by the titles of the chapters, all Irene's gotta do is "take a final." :)

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