The sun had set and the sky had darkened.

Dragging her feet lazily, Seulgi had arrived at the nearby supermarket with her full stomach. She had too much for dinner. It was a celebratory dinner for their seniors who had gotten first position in the latest ranking. Great varieties of food and games welcomed the heroes back into the club. Confetti were thrown all over the room and the medals were passed onto the next generation of the members as an encouragement to do better in the future.

A number of juniors were called out and recognised as the potential candidates to take over the seniors, who will soon be graduating. Seulgi was one of them although she often doubted her capability. It was not clear how she had gotten herself involved in this competitive club called ‘Air Pistol’. She could only remember following her new friends venturing into different booths during the official Open House of all the clubs and societies.

The air conditioner was stronger at night. Seulgi felt relieved that she actually remembered to wear her jacket.

“Eggs, shampoo, toilet paper…” She read the list of items out.

Looking up at the directory board, she headed towards the toiletries section.

“How did my toilet paper even run out that fast?” She questioned herself.

It was a habit that she had ever since she was young. Her mother and father were both working to earn enough money to provide for the family. Finances have always been an issue.

Until her third grade in elementary school, she still had her grandmother to accompany her through her childhood but not anymore after that. The old lady was everything to her and she was devastated. She got used to it gradually; coming home to an empty house every day.

It was then studying had become her top priority in life. She did well in school in terms of achievements from academics and activities. The top three of the school ranking had always included her. Without her name, it would simply be weird. She was the envy of everyone.

And she did it. Her good results allowed her to score a scholarship to the university, which is where she has been attending until now.

She made her parents proud.

∞

“I’m back!” Seulgi announced as she put the bag of groceries on the dining table.

It felt bizarre when she was met with silence. It was an unusual sight because normally, her roommate would have greeted her with a hug. It certainly felt empty without it. To be honest, Seulgi wasn’t that fond of unnecessary skinship, but she figured that the other girl must have felt really lonely to be in Seoul, far away from home. Just like her.

“Wendy?” She called out as she saw the pair of shoes on the rack.

The dormitory wasn’t a big one but it was just enough to house two people. It was like an open-spaced concept where there’s no specific indications to identify different areas of the house. Seulgi actually likes it though because it was simple. Things were easily reachable. This was one of the advantages, especially for lazy people.

Seulgi walked into the cooking area and her nose was suddenly hit by a pungent, awful smell. She used her hands as an attempt to fan away the smell as if it would help. Inching her way close to the bathroom, she was sure that the smell has come from the inside.

“Are you in there? It’s damn smelly!” She knocked several times.

“I know…”

“Are you okay?”

“I’m dying soon. The stomach-ache wouldn’t leave me alone for days.”

“Ah,” now she finally got why her toilet paper had run out that fast.

“Have you seen a doctor?”

“It’s not necessary.”

“You should go see one. It may be food poisoning.”

Seulgi waited outside the bathroom for a while as she poured herself a cup of water. The sound of the flushing toilet came by a few seconds later. When the sick girl finally got out, she was sweating really badly as if she had just come back from a run. Now she was really concerned about her roommate.

“Are you feeling better?”

“I’m pretty sure it’s going to come back a few hours later but for now, I’m just going to head to bed.” Seulgi chuckled a little as she watched her friend dragging her body towards the bed while groaning.

The usual chatter-box had turned into someone with little words. It was a rather pleasant sight though. The girl should do that more often and maybe, she wouldn’t complain about her boyfriend ignoring her.

“I’m going to turn off the lights,” Wendy looked at her for any signs of disapproval.

“Don’t worry, I can use the flashlight from my phone.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yea, I will keep my voice down later. Your sleep won’t be disrupted.”

∞

Feeling really worn out, Seulgi climbed onto the bed as she took the laptop with her. She took a peek at the girl beside her and was relieved that her chest was going up and down at a steady rate. She was deep in her sleep.

Looking at the time on the clock hung on the wall, she waited for the minute hand to strike twelve before calling the recipient on the web. She wondered if she had woken up already. She knew the girl was having a hard time despite the fact that she always tried to hide the vulnerable side of her. She didn’t want to disrupt her beauty sleep.

The call ended within a minute and she concluded that the girl is still sleeping on the other side of the world. Holding her gaze on the ‘call’ button, she contemplated if she should just cancel the web call today. The thought was dismissed when she recalled the days where she had forgotten about calling, and resulted in her girl ignoring her for days. She didn’t need that but she felt guilty, as if trying her best to maintain their relationship was done at the cost of the other girl’s sacrifices.

Seulgi decided to try for the second time.

“Hey,” Seulgi’s whispered into the microphone as her eyes lit up at the sounds on the other side.

The response took a while and it was all silence until the sound of her breathing took over. She definitely just woke up.

“I’m sorry, I just woke up…”

“Do you want to sleep more?”  

The girl on the screen didn’t reply. Her hair was messed up and strands of it were stick onto her face. With one of her eyes closed, she stared at the caller. Seulgi smiled. No matter how the girl looked, she’s still the cutest in her heart.

“Hmm, no. I prefer talking to you more,” she hummed in her response.

“How was your test?”

“It was bad. I did study for it though.”

The tone of her voice was obviously not right. Seulgi could understand that she was tired but the usual excitement in her voice wasn’t present. After 3 years into the relationship, she could understand the girl’s mood with just a few words.

“Something happened? You don’t sound good.”

“Nothing much,” she avoided looking into Seulgi’s eyes, an obvious sign that something was wrong.

“Come on, tell me?”

Seulgi’s mind was filled with worries. This was not the first time it had happened and she knew that it wouldn’t be the last one either. It was frustrating and troublesome but she didn’t want to give up in trying. They had promised that they would make this work.

“Joohyun?” The girl looked up when she heard her real name being called out.

With a pair of concerned eyes watching her, it only took little effort before her wall was broken down.

“I just miss you so much,” a lone tear escaped from her eyes.

The pain in the girl’s voice was agonizing to hear and Seulgi felt her heart broke a little at the confession. That one sentence, so simple but it had managed to stir so much emotions inside her. It was then she realised that she was also feeling the same way.

Letting out a sigh, her gaze softened as she spoke.

“I miss you too.”

---------------------------------------------------

Moonbyul sighs with relief as she glanced at the time. She massages the back of her neck, having been staring at a computer screen for hours. Finally. I thought six o’clock would never get here.

It had been a hectic day at the LG headquarters accounting department. While she was glad that business was going well for one of the biggest companies in Korea, being an accountant for them meant that there was a constant need for the analysis of sales and trends.

And right now, she was absolutely sick of looking at numbers.

It had been a tough road to get to this point.

As a student in the grade school system, Moonbyul was unremarkable, with the exception of one subject: math.

That was the only class that excited her; it was just so satisfying to solve equations and work with numbers. She liked it so much that she would solve extra problems that weren’t assigned as homework.

The other classes seemed like a waste of time. She didn’t care much about what happened in Korean history, learning how to write an essay, or studying the parts of a plant. As a result, she didn’t put nearly as much effort into her other classes as she did with her math class.

Unfortunately for her, she needed to be proficient in more than one subject to get into a good university, and that became painfully apparent when she received a mediocre score on her college entrance exam.

Her parents were very angry about it, and forced her to work at their family-owned restaurant while she attended a lesser known university. They felt that it would teach her the discipline that she was lacking when she was in high school.

Upon graduating with a math major, she decided to reach high and apply to LG for an accountant job. They never responded.

Undeterred, she applied for the same position at a small video game company and got the job. After working there for years, she tried LG again, and this time, she succeeded.

---

Someone knocks on the door of Moonbyul’s small office, and then opens it.

“Hey noona, me and a bunch of other co-workers are going to get some pork belly!” says a guy in his early twenties.

“Give me a minute to close everything up.” Moonbyul puts her folders into the file cabinet. 

“Sounds good! We’ll be waiting for you!”

Moonbyul responds with a faint smile as she turns to her computer. The eagerness of new recruits are always amusing. They’re usually so energetic and optimistic, with a touch of wide-eyed wonder.

She gets up and smoothes her skirt down as she gets her coat. But that won’t last. Nothing ever does.

It had just stopped raining when the group of co-workers stepped outside of the building. It was a relatively cold night, with thick humidity.

“I never had the courage to color my hair blonde, like yours. It just seems so extreme!” a female co-worker says to Moonbyul as they walked towards their favorite restaurant for pork bellies.

I love your blonde hair. It makes you look so hot.

The reassuring voice speaking those words replayed in Moonbyul’s mind as though it was yesterday. Solar gave her the compliment when she had just colored her hair, and was feeling a bit uncertain about her decision. Hearing those words, along with the hug she received, was one of the many things that helped her fall in love.

However, it was a memory that she didn’t want to remember. No matter how much she had been trying to move on, it seemed like nearly everything kept cruelly reminding her of their shattered relationship.

 How the hell am I going to forget about her when I keep getting reminded of my past?

It has been one month since she has broken up with the love of her life. The pain and loneliness she felt afterwards was unbearable, and it was the worst experience she has ever had.

The girl taps the blonde on her shoulder. “Er, Moonbyul?”

“Oh, sorry. I must’ve spaced out.”

“You weren’t thinking about her again, were you?”

A frown creased Moonbyul’s brows. Why can’t this nosy girl bother someone else? “No, I wasn’t. And I remember asking everyone not to mention her again.”

“Now, Byul, you know it’s not good to keep it inside-” the girl stops speaking when Moonbyul glares at her.

“I’ve shared what I want to share already! Now go annoy some other person, like that guy over there!” Moonbyul points to one of the male co-workers that were walking with them.

The guy starts to speak. “Uh, I have a name-”

“Do you think I care?!” Moonbyul interrupts.

“Uh oh, she’s getting in that mood,” muttered a different female co-worker.

The group spoke in hushed tones until they arrived.

“Ah, it’s my favorite customers!” greets a middle-aged woman wearing an apron. She was in the middle of serving a young couple.

The group greeted her back as they sat down at their usual table.

The rookie male looks at Moonbyul. “Feeling better yet, noona?”

“Save that question for after I’ve had my soju.”

“But tomorrow is a workday…”

“I know that!” snaps Moonbyul.

An older guy whispered to the new recruit. “She’s done this many times already.”

“How long have you been working at LG?” Moonbyul asked the rookie.

“About two weeks now! It’s been an eye-opening experience!”

I remember saying that when I started dating Solar- Shut up! Stop thinking about her! Moonbyul scolded herself fiercely. “Are you dating anyone?”

The rookie looked surprised. “No, I never really had the chance to meet anyone yet.”

“Make your decision wisely, because if you don’t, your heart will get torn to pieces, and you’ll be picking those pieces up for the rest of your ing life.” Moonbyul spoke with more bitterness than she intended.

There was an awkward silence at the table as the rookie’s eyes widened.

“Whatever you do, don’t ask her about it!” a girl whispers into the newbie’s ear.

The rookie nods. “That’s… that’s… g-great advice, noona.”

“So, will it be the usual?” The woman they greeted earlier appeared at their table.

“Yes, and bring us some soju,” answers Moonbyul emotionlessly.

“Of course!” The woman leaves.

As the rest of her group began conversing, Moonbyul inadvertently turns her gaze to the young couple that was being served as they entered the restaurant.

Both the boy and the girl seemed to be in their late teens. They were giggling and feeding each other.

“Have you been on a date before?” asked Solar as she and Moonbyul sat down at a small table.

“A few times, but they never led to anything.”

Solar rests her chin on her hand. “Why not?”

The older girl’s adorableness unnerved the blonde a little bit. “They were… um… not my type.”

“Am I your type?”

Moonbyul grins. “I’m not sure yet. What’s your bra cup size?”

The older girl opens . “Why does it matter, you ert?!” She takes a small ice cube out of her glass of water and throws it at the blonde.

“Ow! What the hell?!” exclaims Moonbyul, laughing as the cube hits her on the forehead. She wipes the water off of her with a napkin.

Solar was also laughing. “I didn’t mean to hit your face! Although you did deserve it!”

“That hurt!”

“That was my intention!”

Both girls continued laughing.

Moonbyul felt like picking up a chair and throwing it at the couple, and then flipping their table over.

Her chest tightened as the familiar feelings of anguish and bitterness returned. She wanted to scream.

Why the hell did I have to meet you, Solar?! I would’ve been better off staying single!

She gets up and stalked out of the restaurant, ignoring the questioning looks and whispers of her co-workers.

Stepping out into the cold night air, she goes over to a nearby wall and leaned her back against it, slowly sinking to the ground until she was seated. Her head was lowered as she held it with both hands, her long blonde hair covering her face.

I hate you so much right now, Solar, for what you’ve done to me. Am I ever going to get over you?